Hey Everyone!
I was laying in bed early this morning planning out today in my mind and was thinking about how blessed we are at Shingleur Photography. I decided that I want to share our success story with you to inspire you and encourage you! We had a very interesting start to our photography business.
Have you ever felt like your destiny just dropped into your lap and all you had to do was accept it and run with it? Thats basically what happened. I'll try to keep this short.
When Kathryn and I were kids, one of our favorite things to do was to take pictures of each other! (For those of you who aren't totally aware of mine and Kathryn's relationship, it goes all the way back to fourth grade, and we've been inseparable every since!) When we had a free afternoon, we would meet up and just go take pictures of each other! Obviously, it was nothing professional and probably something more along the lines of 'jump in that pile of leaves and i'll catch you mid-air' kind of photography. Just fun. All the way though high school we took pictures. Things got real serious when we needed new profile pictures on Facebook! Haha!
Moving on to college, I was an Art Major-- Kathryn an Early Childhood Major. I always knew my niche was in the arts, I just couldn't figure out where! A close family friend of ours was getting married and they asked us if we would want to shoot their engagement, bridals, and wedding day. Being the 'unprofessionals' that we were, we were hesitant. Real hesitant! We said yes, and warned them that it might no be what they're wanting! They proceeded to want to use us! So, Kathryn and I decided that we would NOT be another one of those 'family friend photographers' that knew nothing about what they were doing, so the research began. We made notes, took screen shots, practiced posing in the mirror, you name it-- we did it.
We showed up to their engagement session with all these ideas in mind, iPad on hand, and camera ready to shoot! The session went as smooth as butter. However, it was about a 3 hour shoot! The couple was worn out, Kathryn and I were worn out and about 2000 images later, my camera was ready to be turned OFF! We purchased Photoshop Lightroom and developed and delivered their images. They were pleased... and for being such amateurs, I still think some of their shots were exceptional!
The brides Bridal Portrait session went the same way. Super smooth.
Wedding day. Nervous as can be, we show up expecting the worst! You know... like bridezilla, bossy bridesmaids, groomsmen who don't cooperate, the whole nine yards. However it was the total opposite! We had such and amazing time all day long with the bride, groom, bridal party and their families! About a week later, we posted all the wedding pictures to our Facebook page. From there, it was history. We started getting phone calls, emails, texts, private messages... all wanting to book us. We couldn't say no.
It was at this point that I knew. I knew professional photography was it. With just a few semesters of college left I prayerfully decided to stop being a student and pursue photography. We were at the point where we were so incredibly busy that I couldn't maintain our photography business AND school. I was major in Graphic Design. (And yes mom, I still plan to go back and finish. Some day.)
That first year of photography was scary, but with a little bit of faith and a whole lot of marketing strategies, we have come out on top!
Our love for weddings is a very complex thing. It's a beautiful thing to witness love on a week-to-week basis. It's a beautiful thing to see how much a couple can fall in love from the time of their engagement session to that of their wedding day. It's a nerve-wracking thing to be totally responsible for capturing a day that will only happen one time and will never be able to be duplicated. However, when two families are merged together, the drama of that perfect dress, when your new husband's face breaks an expression that you'll remember forever, when your dad is gently crying you down the isle-- this is why we are wedding photographers. Its our job and our privilege to capture these moments so you really can cherish them forever. We strive to capture you life as a photograph. Every detail.
When destiny falls into your lap, run with it. As fast as you can.
Happy Friday!
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